The invention relates to a connector with retainer members to be attached to a panel, particularly to an improvement of retainer members, a connector with the improved retainer members, a method of attaching the connector to a panel, and a method of coupling the connector with the panel attached by the method of attachment with a connector fixedly attached to another panel.
Electronic circuits constituting most electronic equipment are mounted on a printed panel or the like and divided into a plurality of units, and the respective units are coupled with one another by connecters for attachment to a panel and electrically connected thereto. A large connector has been generally used as the connector of this type for attachment to a panel, and most of the connectors are screwed in the foregoing panel or in a panel such as a chassis of an equipment, or the like by screws. However, as electronic equipment has been recently making a progress in miniaturization, the number of electronic components is reduced and assembly work of equipment is made more efficient so that a panel unit has been downsized, and a removable connector which can be coupled with these panels through one-touch operation has been used.
Meanwhile, when the connectors with panels are coupled with each other, there was a case where these connectors with panels are not smoothly coupled with each other due to occurrence of positional slight displacement between the connectors because of error in designing or manufacturing or error in attachment of the connectors to the panels or the like. When both the connectors are forced to be coupled with each other while the positional displacement still occurs, an excessive stress is applied to legs of contacts of the connectors, which causes a problem in that the contacts are removed from housings or the contacts are subject to permanent deformation or breakage trouble. There are provided various proposals for previously preventing such a permanent deformation, breakage trouble of the contact or the like.
There is known a method of coupling connectors fitted in panels with each other by screws which is, for example, disclosed in FIGS. 7(A) to 7(D). FIG. 7(A) is a plan view of a receptacle-type connector, FIG. 7(B) is a sectional view showing a state where the connector shown in FIG. 7(A) is screwed at one end by a screw, FIG. 7(C) is a plug-type connector, and FIG. 7(D) a sectional view showing a state where the connector shown in FIG. 7(C) is screwed at one end by a screw.
Connectors 100, 200 are structured such that a pair of flanges 102a, 102b; 202a, 202b formed respectively in housing propers 101, 201 are fixedly attached to panels 110, 210 by bolts 120a, 120b; 220a, 220b. 
The receptacle-type connector 100 is structured such that diameters of attachment ports 103a, 103b provided in the flanges 102a, 102b are set to be substantially the same as diameters of the screw parts 122a, 122b of the bolts 120a, 120b, and the bolts 120a, 120b are inserted into the attachment ports 103a, 103b so that the bolts 120a, 120b are screwed in female screws 111a, 111b which are bored in the panel 110 or by nuts (not shown), and hence the receptacle-type connector 100 is fixedly attached to the panel 110. FIG. 7(B) shows a state where one flange 102b is attached to the panel 110 by the bolt 120b. The other flange 102a is attached to the panel 110 by the bolt 120a in the same state as shown in FIG. 7(B).
The other plug-type connector 200 is structured such that diameters of attachment ports 203a, 203b provided in the flanges 202a, 202b are set to be slightly larger than diameters of the screw parts 222a, 222b of the bolts 220a, 220b but smaller than diameters of heads 221a, 221b, of the bolts 220a, 220b. The bolts 220a, 220b are inserted into the attachment ports 203a, 203b, so that the bolts 220a, 220b are screwed in female screws which are bored in the panel 210 or by nuts (not shown) in the same manner as the above mentioned attachment method, and hence the plug-type connector 200 is fixedly attached to the panel 210. Stepped screws are normally used as the bolts, and a predetermined gap is defined between shanks of the bolts and the panel in a state where the bolts are attached to the panel, wherein a part of the flange 202b is movable in the gap. This state is shown in FIG. 7(D). The other screw 220a is attached to the panel 210 in the same state as shown in FIG. 7(D).
In cases where the connectors 100, 200 attached to the panels 110, 210 are coupled with each other with this attachment method, if there occurs positional displacement by a distance d therebetween, each part of the flanges of the connector 200 is moved in the attachment ports 203a, 203b, thereby adjusting the positional displacement. According to the adjustment method of positional displacement, if the positional displacement occurs, the adjustment is made by loosening screws every time the positional displacement occurs, causing a very trouble adjusting operation.
On the other hand, the method of coupling connectors with detachable retainer members with a panel is, for example, proposed by JP-A 10-189181, 6-163125 which are known.
FIG. 8 shows a panel versus panel type connector system disclosed in JP-A 10-189181, and it is a sectional view showing a state where a respective connectors are coupled with each other.
The panel versus panel type connector system comprises a first connector 300 and a second connector 400 fitted in a pair of panels 310, 410, respectively, in a stacked state, wherein contacts fitted to both the first connector and the second connector are connected to terminals of electronic components (not shown), respectively, on the respective panel surfaces by solder. The first connector 300 comprises housings 300a, 300b having recessed part 302 for receiving the second connector 400, and a contact 301 fixedly attached to the housing 300 whereas the contact 301 comprises a barrel part 301a for contacting a contact of the second connector 400 and a leg part 301b extending outwards at the bottom side of the housing 300. The housing 300 is divided into two parts, i.e., the housings 300a, 300b, and a slit 304 is defined between the both housings 300a, 300b, wherein both the housings 300a, 300b are coupled with each other by the barrel part 301a and a bridge part (not shown) of the contact.
When the first and second connectors 300 and 400 are coupled with each other, the barrel part 301a of the contact is caused to undergo flexure at the slit 304 in all directions without being restricted by the housing 300b because the housings 300a, 300b are coupled with each other by the barrel part 301a and the bridge part by way of the slit 304. As a result, the housing 300a located at a side of the opening of the recessed part 302 can be deformed relative to the housing 300b located at a side of the panel in a rotating direction and another direction in plane parallel with the panel, thereby improving a following function.
A connector disclosed in the JP-A 6-163125 and shown in FIG. 9 comprises a housing 500 having a plurality of insertion holes 510 which are provided by boring the housing 500 through which posts 505 are inserted, a contact 520 formed of contact spring pieces 520a which are pressed into the insertion holes 510 through the lower face of the housing 500 and fixedly attached thereto, an inverted U-shaped spring pieces 520b of the contact continuously connected to the lower end of the contact spring pieces at one end and disposed outside the housing, and terminals 520c continuously connected to the other end of the inverted U-shaped spring pieces 520b and fixedly attached to a print panel by solder, and metal fittings fixedly attached to the print panel for restricting an upward movement of the housing.
If there occurs positional displacement, when coupling with the connector to another connector, the housing 500 is moved towards a side by causing the inverted U-shaped spring pieces 520a of the contact to undergo flexure to absorb the positional displacement, so that positional alignment between positions of the posts 505 and insertion holes 510 of the housing and smooth insertion and coupling between the posts and the housing can be effected.
The connectors have to be moved to a predetermined position in the case of employment of screws for attaching connectors to the panels so as to correct the positional displacement which occurs when the connectors to be attached to the panels are coupled with each other. Accordingly, when the connectors are fixedly attached to the panels by screws, bolts and nuts are required, causing a problem in that the number of components increases and attaching and removing operations are troublesome.
On the other hand, the panel versus panel type connector system disclosed in the JP-A 10-189181, and the JP-A 6-163125 automatically absorbs the positional displacement which occurs when connectors are coupled with each other.
However, with the structure of the former connectors, the connectors to be fitted in each panel are restricted, and this structure can be applied neither to a plug-type connector on which a plurality of plug pins are embedded nor to a receptacle-type connector having a contact into which the plurality of plug pins are inserted. In this respect, the latter connector is made up of a connector having plug pins and a contact through which the plug pins are inserted, however, the contact is made up of contact spring pieces with inverted U-shaped spring pieces, and hence this connector has a specific structure. Accordingly, it is necessary to design a connector housing and contact terminals in specific shape. As a result, the panel versus panel type connector system connector can not employ an ordinary plug-type connector and a receptacle-type connector.
The invention has been focused on solving the foregoing problems and it is an object of the invention to provide a connector with retainer members which is not broken even if elastic retainer pieces of retainer members are excessively bent when it is attached to a panel.
It is another object of the invention to provide a connector with retainer members capable of preventing elastic retainer pieces of retainer members from being subject to inadvertent stress so that retention between a panel and the connector is maintained, and permanent deformation or breakage of the elastic retainer piece does not occur.
It is further object of the invention to provide a method of attaching a connector with retainer members to a panel while ensuring a strength and a stability of the connector not to be removed from the panel.
It is still further object of the invention to provide a method of coupling a connector to another connector fixedly attached to another panel or the like without laboring by automatically adjusting an error of an attachment position which occurs between both connectors, when the connector is coupled with another connector.
The above objects of the invention can be achieved by following means.
The connector with retainer members to be attached to a panel according to first to third aspects of the invention comprises an insulating housing proper having penetration holes inside thereof through which a plurality of connector terminals are fitted therein, flanges protruded outwardly from right and left or upper and lower wall faces of the housing proper in a direction orthogonal to a direction of insertion and removal of the connector, a pair of retainer members having elasticity and fixedly attached to the flanges on both sides of the back faces as the flanges, characterized in that the retainer members comprise posts fixedly attached to the flanges, and elastic retainer pieces having flexibility and formed by folding back the posts in an inverted V-shape from each head thereof, and the elastic retainer pieces comprise retainer stepped parts at tip ends engaged with peripheral edges of attachment ports of a panel, and tongue pieces provided on the tip end of the retainer stepped parts and tip ends of the tongue pieces are butted against the posts for restricting the elastic retainer pieces from being excessively bent.
According to the connector set forth above, when the retainer members are inserted into the attachment ports of the panel, the elastic retainer pieces are bent towards the posts. However, when the elastic retainer pieces are excessively bent, they are prone to be folded down and broken at the connecting spot between themselves and the post, but the tongue pieces are butted against the surfaces of the posts and restricted in bending before the elastic retainer pieces are excessively bent, so that the elastic retainer pieces are prevented from being broken.
The retainer members are preferably structured to be made up of retainer bases comprising lock grooves having diameters which are smaller than those of attachment ports of the panel and widths which are wider than a thickness of the panel, and retainer stepped parts of the elastic retainer pieces, respectively at fixed roots of the flanges.
With the structure set forth above, since the peripheral diameter of the retainer base formed on the each root of the retainer members is smaller than the diameter of the attachment port of the panel, the retainer members can be freely engaged in the attachment port by the interval corresponding to the difference in the diameters in the peripheral external direction.
The retainer members are fixedly attached to the flanges in a manner that the elastic retainer pieces face each other while the posts sandwich the housing proper therebetween.
Since the elastic retainer pieces are fixedly attached to the flanges while facing each other, if a foreign matter impinges against the retainer members from an outside, the foreign matter can be received by the posts, and it does not reach the elastic retainer pieces. As a result, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of the case where the elastic retainer pieces are pressed when the foreign matter impinges against the retainer members, thereby preventing the retainer stepped parts from being removed from the peripheral edge of the attachment port of the panel.
The method for attaching a connector with retainer members to be attached to a panel to another panel according to the fourth aspect of the invention comprises the steps of preparing the connector as in any of the first to third aspects of the invention, and a panel having attachment ports slightly larger than a diameter of an outer periphery of the retainer members of the connector; characterized in that when the retainer members are inserted into the attachment ports of the panel against the urging of elastic force thereof, the retainer bases of the retainer members are freely engaged in the attachment ports of the panel, whereby the retainer bases are engaged with peripheral edges of the attachment ports of the panel at stepped parts of the lock groove walls and stepped parts of the elastic retainer pieces.
Since the peripheral diameter of the retainer bases formed in the roots of the retainer members is smaller than the diameter of the attachment ports of the panel, the retainer members are freely engaged in the attachment ports by the difference in diameters thereof in a peripheral external direction. In a normal attaching state, the retainer bases are engaged with peripheral edges of the attachment ports of the panel at the stepped parts of the lock grooves and the stepped parts of the elastic retainer pieces, so that even if the retainer bases are moved in the attachment ports and engagement areas of the stepped parts relative to the panel are reduced, the stepped parts are engaged with the attachment ports by the amount of reduction of the engagement areas, and hence the stepped parts are retained by the panel while they are complemented with each other.
A method of coupling a connector attached to a panel by the method according to the fifth aspect of the invention to another connector fixedly attached to another panel as in the fourth aspect of the invention, is characterized in that in cases where positional displacement occurs between both connectors when both connectors are coupled with each other, the connector is coupled with another connector fixedly attached to another panel in a state where the retainer bases of the connector are freely engaged in the attachment ports of the panel, so that the retainer bases are movable in the attachment port by an interval corresponding to a difference in diameter between the attachment port of the panel and the outer periphery of the retainer bases, thereby absorbing the positional displacement between both connectors.
If there occurs a positional displacement when both connectors are coupled with each other, the connector housing is induced in the opening of the other connector, and it moves by the amount of positional displacement to be corrected in an ordinary state so that both the connectors are coupled with each other.